


It's Not What You Know...

by MajorWolfe



Category: Holby City
Genre: Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-02
Updated: 2019-03-07
Packaged: 2019-10-03 01:03:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,159
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17274170
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MajorWolfe/pseuds/MajorWolfe
Summary: It's been two years since Lofty and Dom's wedding, and they're on the verge of welcoming their first child into the world thanks to the woman who offered to be their surrogate.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I'm not entirely sure where this came from, but it wouldn't go away so here it is!

“Charlotte” Serena frowned as she recognised the blonde in front of her at the pulse's queue. 

She turned, frowning slightly, “Serena” she nodded curtly before handing over the bottle of orange juice and the apple she had in her hand, “just these” she smiled to the cashier.

“Are you okay?” Serena asked, not sure why Charlotte was in the hospital. 

Charlotte tapped her debit card against the machine before turning back to face Serena, gesturing to her heavily swollen stomach, “just a check up. I'm fine.” Even though it had been a while there was a part of her that still blamed Serena for the fact her mother had left again, just when Charlotte had just got used to the idea of her settling down, sticking around. 

“Oh, congratulations, your Mum must be so excited.” 

Charlotte shrugged, running her hand over her bump before telling Serena, “it's not mine.” 

Serena frowned, “I'm sorry, I don't…” 

“I'm a surrogate for a gay couple, it's not my baby” she explained before taking a bite of her apple. 

“A… Charlotte, do you know what you're doing, what if something goes wrong? You haven't had a family of your own yet, you…”

“I don't want a family of my own” Charlotte told her, “I know exactly what I'm doing. I wanted to carry a baby just to experience it, but I couldn't imagine myself raising a child, this way I get the best of both worlds.” 

“But Charlotte…” 

“Don't get me wrong, I love Mum and I know she loves me, but I know what it's like to be raised by a mother who had children just because it was what she was ‘supposed’ to do, not because it was what she wanted. I wouldn't put another child through that. I'm going to carry this baby and then it'll grow up with two fathers who already think the world of it. “

“You might change your mind when your baby's put in your arms.”

“It's not my baby Serena. If a friend came to your house and asked to cook their dinner in your oven, would you then decide that it was your dinner? Because that's how this is working. Their bun, my oven, I won't change my mind and want to keep it because it isn't my baby to keep.” She glanced at her watch,” now, if you don't mind…”

She didn't get chance to finish before Lofty rushed over, “Charlotte, sorry, Dom's caught up in theatre so it's just me I'm afraid” he suddenly realised who Charlotte was talking to, “Serena, hi.” 

Serena looked between the two of them, “this… You're…” she knew Lofty and Dom were eagerly awaiting the birth of their first child almost two years after their marriage, and a subsequent trip to the registry office to make things official, had heard mention of a surrogate but hadn't put two and two together until now. “Do you know who this is Lofty?” 

He frowned, “it's Charlotte, our surrogate.” 

Charlotte rolled her eyes and rubbed at the spot of her stomach that the child inside her was kicking, “she means do you know who my mum is” she told him before taking Lofty's hand, letting him feel his child's movements. 

“Oh yeah, course we do” Lofty frowned, smiling at the feeling beneath his hand, “are you ready to go?” he asked Charlotte, “I don't want to keep Fleur waiting, she scares me.” 

Charlotte laughed slightly and threw her apple core into the bin, “come on then, let's get off. Goodbye Serena” she said, walking away without giving Serena chance to respond.

Serena watched the pair walk away before picking up her coffee and making her way up to her office. She tried to get through her paperwork, tried to forget her conversation with Charlotte but she couldn't help but feel like the young woman was making a huge mistake in planning to give away her first child so she picked up her phone, dialling a number she hadn't dialled in several years, hoping it hadn't changed.

“Bernie Wolfe” the call was answered quickly and Serena felt her heart skip a beat at the sound of the familiar voice. 

She cleared her throat, “Bernie its erm, it's me, Serena.”

“Serena” Bernie stopped what she was doing almost instantly, “what… is everything okay?” 

“Everything's erm, well, I just bumped into Charlotte.” 

Bernie frowned slightly and glanced at the calendar on the wall, “yeah. She mentioned having an appointment this week. Is she okay?” 

“You know?” Serena was surprised, “you don't think she's making a mistake giving away her child?” 

“What?” Bernie wasn't sure what was going through Serena's mind. “It's not Lottie's baby, it's Dom and Lofty's baby, and anyway, Charlotte's an adult and it's her body, it's not for me to decide what she can and can't do. Is this why you called me?” 

“Bernie, Charlotte is…”she trailed off as she heard a voice in the background asking Bernie if she was ready to go, “are you…”

“Look Serena, I’ve got to go, but for the record, I know Charlotte will have gone into this with her eyes wide open, she wouldn’t have said yes if she’d have had any doubts, and she’s stubborn, if being a surrogate is what she wants to do, she’d have done it regardless of whether I liked the idea or not, and if that’s what she’s going to do, then I for one would rather she carried a baby for a couple I know, a couple I trust to take care of my daughter and give the baby she’s carrying an amazing life.  What Charlotte does with her body isn’t my decision to make, and neither is it yours ,so all I can do is support her as she does what she wants to do.”

Lofty gazed on amazed as he saw the baby on the screen, he wasn’t sure it would ever sink in that the picture he was seeing was a real baby. His baby. An actual person that he and Dom would soon be taking home to settle in the nursery Charlotte had helped them decorate.  He squeezed Charlotte’s hand when he heard her sigh in relief as she was told the baby, they hadn’t wanted to find out the gender, was no longer breech and was, in Fleur’s words, “in the perfect position and ready to go”, and it was now just a matter of waiting out the last few weeks of the pregnancy until the baby decided he or she was ready to come and meet them.

Ever the gentleman he walked Charlotte out to her car after her appointment, a copy of the scan picture tucked into the pocket of his scrubs, ready to show Dom when he got back up to Keller, but a s soon as Dom saw his husband he knew something was ‘off’. Lofty was quick to show him the scan picture, talking him through the appointment and reassuring him that both Charlotte and their unborn child were absolutely fine but Dom wasn't stupid, he knew something wasn't right so Lofty felt like he had no choice but to tell Dom about Charlotte's run in with Serena, Charlotte having told him everything as they'd waited to go in for her ultrasound. 

“I'm going to call Bernie” Dom told Lofty. He'd kept in touch with the Major every time she'd left Holby and this time was no different, their friendship only growing stronger when he'd found out the connection between the surrogate he and Lofty had chosen and their ex colleague. 

Lofty nodded, “tell her not to worry though, from the sounds of it Charlotte put her straight.” 

“I'm not surprised” Dom chuckled, you know who her mother is, and I think we need to prepare ourselves for our little one to be just as feisty and strong willed as their mother and their grandmother" he chuckled before picking up his phone and kissing Lofty's cheek. 

He made his way up to the roof, basking in the silence for a minute or two before he dialled Bernie's number, quickly reassuring her that everything was fine when he heard the worry in her voice, probably from him calling so soon after Charlotte's appointment.  “I just thought you should know, Lofty said Charlotte bumped into Serena earlier” he told her, “I got caught up in theatre so I didn't get to go to the appointment with the pair of them, but apparently Serena didn't seem happy that Charlotte was our surrogate.”

“No” Bernie mused, “she called me earlier, it must not have been that long after seeing Charlotte. I think she was expecting me to say I'd try and talk Charlotte out of being your surrogate but it's not my decision to make, if the three of you are happy with the agreement you've made then that's enough for me.”

“Thank you” Bernie could hear Dom smiling down the phone, “have you heard from Charlotte since the appointment?”

“I had a text to tell me her UTI’s cleared up, baby’s finally turned head down and everything else looks good.”

Dom laughed, “want me to send you a copy of the scan?”

Bernie chuckled, “that would be nice.”

“Consider it done Nanna” Dom teased, “look after yourself yeah? And give my love to that wife of yours.”

“I will” Bernie smiled. “You look after yourself too.”

“Always” Dom promised, “Charlotte too, don’t worry about it.”

“I don’t” Bernie told him, “because I know that you know I’d kill you if you didn’t.”

“There is that” Dom agreed, the pair speaking for a few more minutes before finishing the call and both heading back to work.

Despite Charlotte being firm with the child in her stomach, reminding them over and over again of their ‘eviction’ date, she was nine days overdue when she felt her first real contraction.  “About time!” she murmured quietly, picking up the drink she’d just made and carrying it through to the living room. She frowned slightly as she felt her stomach tighten a second timeas she placed her glass down on the coffee table, “okay, okay” she took a shaky breath and rubbed circles on her bump, “I get it, I’ll call your Dads” 

She called Dom, failing to hold back a smile at the excitement in his voice when she told him she thought it might be time and he promised that he and Lofty would be straight round.  She paced the living room for a few minutes before picking up her phone and sending another text, this one to her mother, ‘ _ I think I’m in labour, I know it’s a big ask but can you come to the hospital with me? _ ’  Bernie hadn’t gone back to Nairobi after her split with Serena, had settled just two hours out of Holby, finding herself a job she loved and rebuilding her relationship with Alex, a woman Charlotte was surprised to find herself easily getting along with and, despite their relationship being strained at first, Charlotte wasn't sure how she'd have coped without her mother during her pregnancy.

Bernie’s reply came almost fifteen minutes later, just as Lofty and Dom knocked on her door, ‘ _At work, g_ _ etting in the car now, will be there ASAP xx _ ’

Charlotte had a few more contractions before they seemed to die off a little, but she was determined that today was the day, that after almost 42 weeks, it was time for the baby to come and harass his or her dads instead, and Lofty and Dom were only too happy to go along with whatever Charlotte wanted.

They spent hours walking the streets, supporting her as she rocked on her birthing ball, and, at Charlotte’s instruction, Dom even called Bernie and asked her to pick up the hottest curry she could find on her way over and it was a little after 10pm when Charlotte’s contractions picked up again, not showing any signs of slowing this time, and Bernie, Charlotte, Lofty & Dom all made their way to the hospital.

Bernie couldn't help but smile as she watched Dom and Lofty in the delivery room, it was obvious that the two men doted on, not only their unborn child, but on Charlotte too. Bernie could tell that they’d do whatever they could for Charlotte. She was there, had whispered words of encouragement, had even held her daughter’s hand for a while, but it was Lofty and Dom that had stepped up, were doing all they could to support Charlotte as she bought their baby into the world. 

The sun was beginning to rise again by the time the squawking infant finally made an appearance, Dom welling up as he lifted the baby into his arms, tearfully announcing, “it’s a boy, we’ve got a boy.” Lofty leaning in to kiss Charlotte’s temple, his own eyes shining with tears as he whispered words of thanks to the exhausted young woman.

“We erm, we thought we might call him Charlie” Lofty smiled as Dom rocked their son once he and Charlotte had both been cleaned up, “only if that’s okay with you though, Charlie Copeland.”

Charlotte smiled, surprised to find her eyes filling with tears too, “I’d like that”

“You don’t have to” Dom told her, “but if there’s anything you’d like us to use as his middle name…”

“I…”

“There’s no rush” Dom reassured her, “and if you don’t want to choose something then we won’t mind.”

“Can I think about it?” Charlotte asked.

“Of course” Dom smiled, “like we said, there’s no rush.”

“Noah” she whispered a while later, “I like Noah.”

“Charlie Noah Copeland” Dom smiled, “good choice.”

Bernie could almost feel the love in the room as Lofty and Dom bonded with their son, making it clear that Charlotte didn’t need to ask permission if she wanted to hold him, thanking her over and over again for giving them their perfect little boy. She didn’t want to intrude, stood in the corner of the room, letting the three adults bond with the newborn, baby Charlie’s family tree might be a little complicated than most, but that didn’t matter as far as Bernie was concerned, the extra branches just meant he’d have more people in his life who loved him and that would never be a bad thing.

She smiled as Dom walked over to her, “we've already told Charlotte she can be as involved as she wants” he told her, “she's welcome in our house whenever she wants, and the same goes for you, birthdays, Christmas, whenever you want. In our eyes you're as much Charlie's grandmother as our own parents and we'd never stop you seeing him.” 

“Are you sure?” Bernie asked, slightly surprised by the offer.

“Of course” Dom nodded, “what’s the saying about how it takes a village to raise a child? You’re his family, we wouldn’t have him if it wasn’t for Charlotte and we’re not going to keep him from you, from any of you, and when he’s old enough, we’re going to make sure he knows exactly how lucky we got when we met Charlotte.

Bernie smiled and reached out, gently squeezing Dom's arm, “thank you, and thank you for taking good care of her.”

“She’s already offered to do it again” Dom told Bernie, “if we want to give Charlie a sibling in a couple of years.”

“She certainly fared better with her pregnancy than I did with either of mine” Bernie chuckled, “I wish I could have breezed through it the way she did.”

“I think we definitely got lucky” Dom nodded, “but we’d have done what we could to support her no matter how easy she’d found it.”

“I know” Bernie nodded, “now go and make a fuss of your son, don’t let your husband hog all the cuddles, they grow so quickly, make the most of every moment with him.”

Dom’s face lit up at the realisation that he now had a husband and a son and he quickly crossed the small room to where Lofty was talking to Charlotte, Charlie cradled in his arms.

“Are you okay?” Bernie asked as she sat beside the bed, Charlotte watching as Lofty and Dom fussed over the newborn.

Charlotte nodded and smiled, “I am actually, I thought I might feel, I don’t know, something when I handed him over, but…” she shrugged, “I don’t. He might have grown inside me but he’s not my baby.”

“So you haven’t got any regrets?” Bernie asked.

Charlotte shook her head, “look at them” she smiled as Dom and Lofty posed for a selfie, Charlie sleeping happily in their arms, “they’re over the moon and that little guy is going to be loved more than he could ever imagine, how could I ever regret that?”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was going to write another chapter to this but it sort of took on a life of it's own, so I decided to split it into (at least) two parts.

“Hello Nanna” Dom teased as he opened the door to find Bernie holding a selection of gift bags and a large helium balloon shaped like a number three, “come in.” 

“Where is he?” Bernie asked as she stepped into an unusually quiet house, “you haven't worn him out already.” 

“We haven't” Dom chuckled, “he did that himself, he's having a nap upstairs with Lottie.” 

“How's she doing?” Bernie asked, handing over the gift bags and balloon so she could kick off her shoes and remove her jacket. 

“She's uncomfortable, she's not sleeping despite what she tells us, but she is resting and she gave in last night, and after weeks of moaning about wanting to soak in the bath, she finally let me help her in and out so she stayed in there for a while, so long Lofty went up to check she was okay actually” he chuckled. 

Bernie nodded, “at least she's trying to relax” she said softly before asking, “what did Fleur have to say?” as she followed Dom into the living room, smiling at the multicoloured balloons and ‘happy third birthday’ banners that covered the room. 

“Not much, the babies are a good size and if Lottie can make it to 35 weeks then she won't try and stop her labour if it happens again, but she won't induce her until a little later. As fed up as she is right now, I think Lottie's really worried about them being born too early.”

“I'll talk to her later” Bernie nodded, “see if I can put her mind at rest a little.” 

Dom nodded, “I'd appreciate that, can I get you a drink or anything? Lofty's just nipped out while Charlie's asleep because we can't find the candles we bought for the cake” he chuckled. 

“I'm alright thanks” Bernie smiled as she made herself comfortable on the large corner sofa, “you relax for 10 minutes because if I know that boy, he'll be full of beans when he wakes up.” 

“When is he not?” Dom laughed, “I went to check on him a few minutes before you got here, Lottie took him up and he's in bed with her, I don't know how she's sleeping because I'm sure Charlie runs marathons in his sleep. 

“She's having twins” Bernie laughed, “I'm sure she's used to sleeping with wriggly things.” 

“Yeah” Dom mused, “you're probably right.” 

Today was Charlie's third birthday, the boy's entire family invited to join the celebrations. Only he'd worn himself out chasing balloons around the living room in the early hours of the morning and had ended up having his first nap of the day before 10am.

Both Bernie and Charlotte had been involved with Charlie's upbringing from the day he was born, and, although Bernie was happy to take on the role of ‘Nanna’, after checking it was okay with Charlotte, Charlotte had turned down Lofty and Dom's offer to be called Mummy and instead was Auntie Lottie, or, if you asked Charlie, just ‘Lolly’. Lofty and Dom had told Charlotte right from the start that they wanted to be open with their son, and they had. When her second pregnancy had been confirmed, Lofty and Dom had started preparing the toddler for the arrival of his new sibling, Lottie not minding at all that she was referred to as their ‘tummy Mummy.”

They'd all been surprised when Lottie's 12 week scan had revealed that the child they were expecting had company but Charlotte had just taken it in her stride. This pregnancy however hadn't gone as smoothly as her first and, after several scares and the threat of premature labour at just 26 weeks, Lofty and Dom had all but insisted Charlotte moved in with them so they could take care of her, and now they were just a few short weeks away from meeting Charlie's siblings. 

“You know she's still pushing for a natural birth?” Dom asked. 

“It doesn't surprise me” Bernie chuckled, “what did Fleur have to say about that?” 

“She explained the risks but told Charlotte that ultimately the decision was hers and if she didn't want a C section then she'd support her with that choice.” 

Bernie nodded, “I think she'd have the C section if there was any danger or if anything went wrong.”

“Me too” Dom agreed, “it just amazes me how much she's willing to put herself through, if it was me I'd want all the drugs they had and if they offered to knock me out I'd bite their hands off.” 

Bernie laughed, “Lottie was a C section, and trust me, recovering from Cam's birth was a lot easier than hers.” 

“I can believe it” Dom nodded, “I know what we tell patients who have had abdo surgery, but we've told her, whatever happens, c section or not, she's welcome to come back here after the birth so we can help her out for as long as she needs us to.”

Bernie nodded, “I know you'll take care of her” she smiled before chuckling when she heard footsteps on the stairs. 

“C'ma Lolly, faster!” She heard Charlie's little voice, the boys face lighting up when he charged into the living room and saw her sat on the sofa, “Nanna” he beamed as he flew towards her, Bernie lifting him onto her lap as he snuggled into her and told her, “me Birday Nanna” 

“I know” Bernie chuckled, smiling as Charlotte let out a huff of breath as she lowered herself into the seat beside her mother, rubbing her hand over the side of her bump, “you're getting big aren't you?” 

“Yep” he grinned, “and I gets new toys.” 

“If you ask Daddy nicely, he might have some presents from me for you to open.” 

“Daddy!” Charlie gasped as he scrambled over to Dom's lap, “more?” 

Dom laughed, “can you wait until Daddy gets back from the shop? So he can help you open them?” 

Charlie looked thoughtful for a minute before he nodded, “I have juice?” he asked, “and bibit?” 

“Okay” Dom nodded, “come and help me, give Nanna and Auntie Lottie a few minutes peace while we get drinks and biscuits for everyone.” 

“How are you feeling?” Bernie asked as she wrapped her arm around Charlotte's shoulder, letting her daughter curl into her.

“Fat” Lottie sighed, “tired, uncomfortable, everything aches.”

“Did Charlie wake you up?” Bernie asked as she began to play with Charlotte's hair. 

She shook her head, “if anything I think I woke him. I got up to pee and when I came back he was awake.” 

Bernie nodded, sitting in silence for a minute before gently telling her, “Dom says you're worrying about the twins being premature.” 

Charlotte nodded, eyes not moving from her bump, “I know I'm not their mother as such, but while I'm pregnant it's my job to keep them safe, to make sure they're healthy.” 

“And you're doing all you can to keep them safe and healthy, I know that, Dom and Lofty know that and I'm sure that somewhere, you know you are too, but sometimes these things are out of your control.”

“I just want them to be okay” Lottie whispered as she wiped at her eyes. 

“And they will be” Bernie kissed her temple, “every day that you're pregnant, they get bigger and stronger, you're not even 3 weeks away from when Fleur would be happy for them to be born, and even if they do come a little bit earlier than we'd like, the nicu and scbu at Holby have brilliant results with premature babies, you might not think of yourself as these babies’ mother, but their DNA is half yours, that means they're going to be strong willed and stubborn, I think they'll be okay no matter what happens.”

Charlotte smiled as she sniffled quietly, “will you be there?” she asked, “when I go into labour, when they're born, will you be there?” 

“Of course I will” Bernie squeezed Charlotte before swiping at her tears with her thumb, “now, come on, do you want to face the wrath of Charlie if he finds out you've been crying on his birthday?” 


End file.
